With GTAIV being only a few weeks away I thought it would be a good idea to compile all the information about the game into this post.

Title: Grand Theft Auto IV
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games (Parent Company: Take2 Interactive)
Multiplayer: 16 player online.
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation3
Website: www.rockstargames.com/IV
Release Dates: April 29, 2008

The first thing you may think as strange about this game is its release date, it is being released worldwide on the 29th of april which is a tuesday, rest assured if its being released in your country it will be available to buy on that day.

It was announced on May 21, 2007, that GTA 4 would be available as a special edition on the same day as the regular edition. It is presented in a customised Grand Theft Auto metal safety deposit box, and includes the game, a limited edition duffel bag, an exclusive keychain, a selected soundtrack CD, and a Grand Theft Auto IV Art Book, featuring never-before-seen production artwork from GTA4.

Gameplay

* Niko can use a mobile phone to recieve calls and phone his contacts. He can also use it to call taxis and purchase weapons. The options presented on the phone’s LCD are Phonebook, Messages, Organizer, and Camera.

* It is possible to climb and descend telephone poles, and exterior fire escapes.

* Niko is able to manage his funds at ATMs.

* GTA IV features multiplayer, but it’s “not a massively multiplayer game,” according to Rockstar’s creative vice president Dan Houser.

* It is possible to surf the internet in GTA4 via internet cafés. It is available from any computer in the game, and provides a hub for all sorts of interactivity within Liberty City.

* The camera angle behind the car is closer than it has been in previous GTAs. This allows you to see more detail on the cars, and more of the verticality of the city.

* In GTA IV, you will gain a police wanted level for any crime that you commit, providing there are witnesses present. The police can only chase you if they know where you are, and they need to see you to know where you are. If you escape the search area marked on the radar without being spotted, your wanted level will disappear.

* In terms of scale, GTA IV is about the same size as GTA: San Andreas, but the map size is considerably smaller. This is mainly due to the fact there is no desert or countryside in Liberty City. Liberty City in GTA4 is the biggest city R* have ever created.

* Every street in Liberty City contains a street sign with a name on it.

* It is possible to do more than one mission at a time. For example, some missions take place over several days and may involve waiting for phonecalls or attending interviews, and you are free to carry out other business during the waiting period.

* The story can be told in a number of different ways. Rockstar is trying to give people greater freedom and sense of control over their destiny. You now have a lot more choice in what you want to do.
* Pedestrians smoke cigarettes, read books and newspapers, drop litter, talk on mobile phones, walk in and out of buildings, and generally act like any normal pedestrian would.

Engine

* Grand Theft Auto 4 runs on Rockstar’s proprietary next generation game engine, R.A.G.E., allowing for an unprecedented level of realism and interactivity.
- New sunlight and weather effects which give the city a whole different appearance as the time of day progresses.
- Volumetric lighting effects allow sunlight to stream realistically into dusty interiors. Police spotlights will likely benefit from this effect as well when helicopters kick up debris.
- Normal (bump) maps will provide much more detail in models than the underlying polygons, as well as giving materials more texture and depth.
- Road and building textures are more varied than in previous GTAs. On some roads you will find potholes, metal plates (etc) where the road has been dug up.
- Modern pixel shaders give water, glass, cars, etc.. more realistic reflections and shininess than the earlier games.
- In cars, you can see real reflections on the rear and side-view mirrors.
- In cars, you can see real reflections on the rear and side-view mirrors.
* GTA4 uses euphoria, a fully procedural animation package created by NaturalMotion. The core technology is the Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS) system.
- Variations in the terrain are met with realistic changes in the walking animation.
- Unique game moments. Animations are created on the fly, so each player’s experience will be unique. Gamers are no longer subjected to pre-recorded animations.
- Characters will react realisticaly to being hit with gunfire, cars, and melee weapons or fists.
- Players will be able to push people out of the way, rather than “floating” past them as in older games.
- Falling/thrown characters will react as in real life- They won’t simply be limp, lifeless ragdolls. Nor will they use a canned “super hero” animation like before.
- Characters (and players?) will be able to hang on to helicopters and trucks, which will swing them around as the vehicle moves.

Setting

New York, New York! Economic powerhouse, beacon of hope to optimistic immigrants, home to tens of millions of citizens, rife with crime and seedy underworld riffraff; New York City is the epitome of everything that is American. It’s really no wonder that Liberty City, Rockstar’s exaggerated and cynical portrayal of New York, has called itself home to more than half of the Grand Theft Auto titles in existence.

Liberty City first appeared alongside Vice City and San Andreas as one of three major levels (cities) in the original Grand Theft Auto. Due to the game being produced by a British development team, much of Liberty City - along with Vice City and San Andreas - was based on stereotypes and twisted to suit British humour. Since then, it has resurfaced as the city of choice for Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto Advance, and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. In every incarnation, Rockstar North consistently embraced the sensationalist, cynical sense of humour that was put forth in the first game.

Even when Liberty was not openly accessible to gamers in other titles, it played a prominent role in establishing the necessary storylines. In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the protagonist (Tommy Vercetti) and the mafia family in which he indebted to both hailed from Liberty City. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the protagonist (Carl Johnson) returned to San Andreas after residing in Liberty City for an extended period of time.

Past incarnations of Liberty City, however, have failed to truly resemble New York. Whereas Vice City was hailed as an achievement in Rockstar’s ability to duplicate the overall feel of Miami, the winding streets and communities of Liberty City seemed cold and lifeless by comparison.

Things will be different. Rockstar North has wiped the slate clean, shutting the book on the Grand Theft Auto III trilogy and choosing to start anew. Gone are the days of zombie-like pedestrians, robotic law enforcement and stale surroundings. Liberty City has returned as the setting for Grand Theft Auto IV, but this isn’t the Liberty City that we have embraced for over half a decade.

Bigger, grittier, and more brutal than ever, Liberty City is back with a vengeance in Grand Theft Auto IV. Four of the five boroughs - plus a portion of New Jersey - have been recreated from the bottom up in an attempt to finally nail the atmosphere of New York City. The Bronx has become Bohan. Brooklyn has become Broker. Manhattan has become Algonquin. New Jersey has become Alderney. And Queens has become Dukes. (Although Staten Island has no counterpart in GTA IV, the reasoning from Rockstar is justifiable - it just wouldn’t be any fun to play.)

Liberty City’s resemblance to New York, N.Y. isn’t limited to geographical locations, however. Many of the landmarks that exist in New York are mirrored in GTA IV’s Liberty City. The MetLife building - a major part of the Manhattan skyline - has been recreated as the GetaLife building. The DUMBO neighbourhood (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) exists in Liberty City as BOABO (Beneath the Offramp of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass). The Statue of Liberty - which wasn’t present at all in GTA III - finally makes an appearance as the Statue of Happiness. Other notable landmarks of the New York skyline have been duplicated in GTA IV, including the Empire State building, Chrysler building, Flatiron, Roosevelt Island, Brooklyn Bridge, and many more.

In an attempt to fully embrace the culture and atmosphere of New York, Rockstar North has also made sure that the citizens of Liberty City echo those of New York City. The eccentric vagrants of New York coexist with the smarmy executive-types. Foreigners try to find their way as tourists stumble through crowded intersections. Crooked businessmen strike deals with ruthless opportunists. Organized crime thrives as the Russian and Italian mafias clash with the likes of the Chinese Triads and Yakuza. The trafficking of drugs coincides with the smuggling of weapons. All of this is interwoven, giving Liberty City the authenticity of a modern-day New York City.

Below is not the GTAIV map but it is a good representation of where you will be playing.

Characters

Roman - Roman is Niko’s cousin. He has been living in Liberty City pursuing the American dream - fast cars, women, hot tubs, luxury condos. At least these are the things he has been telling Niko about. Instead, he operates a cab stand in Broker and, a born optimist and a bit of a fantasist, Roman dreams big while he and his girlfriend Mallorie decide whether to take each other seriously.

Vlad - In Vlad’s own mind he is a supremely powerful gangster, who runs the Hove beach neighborhood of Broker with an iron fist, and takes crap from no one… In reality, he is a low level Russian hood who is trying to gain favor with more powerful criminals, while he runs minor protection rackets and talks a big game.

Elizabeta - For 10 years or more, Elizabeta has been a successful drug dealer in Bohan. Successful because she kept things low key and paid off or killed the right people. She knows that a crackdown on drug dealing is going to put her under scrutiny and her own narcotic consumption has spiraled out of control, making her dangerously paranoid and delusional.

Manny - Manny is testament to the fact men can be reborn. Once a hard living hoodlum, who was there (and involved?) when people invented graffiti, hip hop, and breakdancing—he never wanted any credit, it wasn’t about ego for him. He is now a man transformed and all about one thing—cleaning up the neighborhood, the kids and the streets. To prove it, he’s having a documentary made about himself, to record his struggle.

Brucie - Anyone who thinks modern man is having an identity crisis should meet Brucie. Brucie is a serious fitness enthusiast, car nut and self appointed VIP. He’s also proof that sometimes, delusional white idiots can take the hip hop thing a bit far. He’s loud, he’s proud and he’s going to make sure you know just how much money he’s got. He lives life large, just like men do in the magazines he reads. He’s got nothing but the finest women, cars, lifestyle accessories and anabolic steroids. That’s how he rolls.

Multiplayer

• Total of 15 game modes, each supporting different numbers of players. The maximum number of players is 16.
• Configuration of each mode can be adjusted by the host. Vehicles types, volume of traffic, number of pedestrians, police presence, weapons and weather can all be controlled.

Characters are completely customisable. You can essentially create your own unique online character by adjusting their hair, sex, race, clothing etc.

Deathmatch 2-16 players

It’s a complete free for all! Anything goes, and you can use any tactics you like to kill off the competition. Confined to specific areas of Liberty City in order to keep the action intense.

Team Deathmatch 2-16 players

Deathmatch in a team-based scenario. You’ll be working with other players to rack up kills on your oponents. It’s possible to have multiple players in the same car/helicopter. This can be played with more then 2 teams eg. 4 teams of 4.

Race 1-16 players

Race through the city on predetermined courses in a variety of different vehicle classes. First to the finish line wins the race.

GTA Race 1-16 players

Identical to the Race mode, but with the added benefit of weapons (Molotov cocktails and grenades) and the ability to steal your opponents’ cars.

Mafyia work 2-8 players

Working under the direction of Kenny Petrovic via. your cellphone, you will compete against other players in a series of mini-missions. You might have to pick up recruits for the firm or take out a target, or even find and then dispose of a dozen severed heads.

Team Mafyia work 2-16 players

The objective is the same as Mafiya Work, but you will be working with other players in a coordinated team effort. More tactical this time, and obviously more challenging.

Cop’s n’ Crooks 4-16 players

One team plays as the LCPD while the other team takes on the role of criminals. One of the players on the crooks’ team is [randomly] assigned the boss. The objective is simple; the cops must catch the crooks before they can escape to safety. To aid them in their pursuit, players taking on the role of the Liberty City Police Department will be able to use their GPS to track down the criminals. The criminals, on the other hand, are flying blind with no GPS device of their own.

So far there are other modes confirmed but no details have been release about what they contain.

- The Liberty City map was shown briefly during the demo. Kikizo describe it as containing a large island in the middle (Algonquin) with a similarly sized island to the left (Alderney) and two islands to the right - a small one (Bohan) up north with Broker and Dukes underneath.

- Liberty City will contain a subway system, which Niko is able to use. The system covers - at the very least - Broker and Algonquin, but we aren’t sure about the other areas yet.

- A speedboat journey around (approximately) half of Algonquin lasted 5 real-world minutes.

- In terms of camera views, all the traditional views are still there, and there will now also be a dashboard view.

- During the demo, they passed a restaurant called “Poop Deck,” where they met with Francis McGreary. Other places mentioned are Oneida Avenue, 99 Long Road (Broker), a
bar called Perestroika, South Parkway, Franklyn Street Westbank, and Albannay.

- Three missions were previewed during the demonstration. The first one was “Search and Delete,” followed by “Deconstruction for Beginners” and then “Truck Hustle”. A new character called Playboy X is introduced by Elizabeta (a mutual friend) during the second mission. Playboy X lives in a mansion, and eventually provides missions for Niko. A second character called Dwayne Ford is introduced, who just got out of prison. He taught Playboy X “everything he knows,” apparently. In the third mission, two characters called Ray and Bell are introduced. They are from the mafia, and are trying to help Niko find someone, but want some favours done in return.

- The character Brucie is introduced to Niko by his cousin Roman. Brucie runs a garage just around the corner from Roman’s taxi depot in Broker.

- Characters often look different each time you see them instead of perpetually wearing the same clothes like in previous GTAs.

- The red and blue search radius on the radar is centred around the point where the crime was committed, and your last known whereabouts.

- Every police car in Liberty City has an on-board computer, on which you can access the police database files for anybody who’s got a criminal record, or any other details that the police are aware of.

- You can smash your own car window to enable you to shoot from it; you can free-aim outside of your window using the right analogue.

- Liberty City has one airport, based on JFK, called Francis International Airport (yes, it’s the same name given to the airport in GTA3). It is located in on the East of the city.

- Progress is automatically saved after completing a mission. There are also safe houses dotted around the city, which you can save at any time.

- In this demo, the cell network is called Badger, whereas in the last demo it was called Whiz.

- Building and maintaining relationships with characters is important. During the preview, Jacob comes to meet you rather than vice versa. This is only possible once your friendship with Jacob has developed to a certain stage. Relationships can be damaged if you (for example) fail to turn up for meetings, or snub the character too many times. Maintaining good relationships with characters provides benefits.

- Pool, eating, darts, drinking and bowling are just some of the activities you can do with your friends to maintain relationships. The cellphone is used to access these activities via a menu. If you go for a drink and drink too much, Niko will get drunk. When this happens, the radar reads “You are drunk. Your vision is blurred.” and the camera begins to shake, which makes driving difficult.

- There is a radio station called IF99.

- The game clock is no longer one minute = one hour. It is now two minutes = one hour. So days now last longer.

- Niko receives phone calls from people throughout the game. If someone really wants to get in touch with you about an important issue, they will keep on phoning.

- The new targetting system was described. There are eight purple segments in the target circle that make up someone’s health, which you get when you’re locked on - during free aiming you don’t get the indicator.

- Expensive cars have better GPS systems than poorer ones. The one they enter during the preview session “talks us through the streets!”

- The cellphone can be used to listen to radio stations, so now you can listen to music at any time.

The GTA 4 weather system does not feature seasons, and there is no snow.(Damn, oh well)

- Niko moves around Liberty City in 3 different speeds: Walking, Jogging or Running

- Rockstar will use the Euphoria Engine, known from “Star Wars: The Force unleashed”. Result: Every Explosion looks different.

- Enemies that have been hit may still try to get up again and attack you (i imagine this like the last stand feature in CoD 4)

- your wanted level does not depend on what you are doing (for example, killing someone in a back alley in san andreas with absolutely no witnesses would still earn you a wanted star), but on who is watching. so prepare for some sam-fisher-like actions for a minimal wanted star level.

* The faster you tap X, the faster Niko runs. He doesn’t appear to get tired.

* Major collisions on motorbikes cause the helmet to fall off. You can see it fall onto the ground.

* Heavy fire will scar - and permanently destroy - parts of the environment.

* They previewed a mission called “To Live and Die in Alderney,” which is the second part of “Truck Hustle.” The second mission is called “Jamaican Heat,” and acts as a tutorial for the new cover/targeting system. The third mission is called “Jacob’s Ladder,” and the fourth (and final) mission is called “Harbouring a Grudge.” This mission introduces an Irish character called Patrick McReary, who is related to Francis.

* The mobile phone can be used to call the police, the paramedics, and the fire department.

* There are 18 radio stations in GTA IV - one of which is Russian. All of these stations can be accessed via the mobile phone.

* You can take photos with the mobile phone and upload them to the police computer.

* Health is represented by a green semi-circle on the left side of the radar, and a right semi-circle represents armour. You can restore health by resting, by using medical kits, and by eating.

* In taxis, you can ask the driver to change the radio station by pressing D-pad left or right.
The GTA 4 equivalent of the Lincoln Tunnel is known as the Booth Tunnel.

* Once you die and end up in hospital, you receive a text on your phone offering you to retry the mission.

* Only one island (Broker/Dukes) is unlocked to begin with. The other areas are blocked with police blockades. The second area (Bohan) will open up “sooner than it has in previous GTAs.”

* You can drop grenades and molotov cocktails out of the car window at high speed.

* Headlights can be put on full beam or dipped, but cannot be turned off.

* You can pause and select a destination on the full-size map, which is then reflected on the radar. This marks the route out in blue.

* You cannot store items/objects inside vehicles.

* Cars are not customisable, but you can still save them at safe houses.

* There are eighteen radio stations in total. One is called The Vibe, which is RNB and soul. The other genres on offer include funk, reggae, jazz, dance, modern Jamaican, pop, hardcore, hip hop and a specific Eastern European station.

* Dropped weapons and other items have a yellow halo around them, and the mission markers are now yellow arrows floating in the air, pointing at the ground, as opposed to the cylinders we are used to in previous GTAs.

* There are 14 radio stations in the game, not 18 as was previously suggested.

* Niko is an old soldier who spent time in third-world prisons.

* On the subject of multiplayer, Houser says: “I just like running up to a bunch of players with the grenade cooking in my hands and taking them all out with me.” A range of ’standard’ multiplayer modes are available, in addition to some which haven’t been tried before. Nothing else was revealed unfortunately.

* For the new melee-combat system, Rockstar consulted a UFC master of the Israeli special-forces martial art, Krav Maga.

*When GTA IV was first being planned, Aaron Garbut (Rockstar North’s art director) unveiled an enormous map featuring Liberty City surrounded by countryside the size of New York state. This “megamap” seemed the logical step after San Andreas, but R* soon decided to change their focus, and work on creating a larger GTA experience instead of just a larger map.

* - When night, ten thousands of lit up windows can be seen in Liberty City.

- It seems that you can breathe in while sniping, for more accuracy.

- The game looks nothing like it did back in March 2007, after trailer 1, the game was looking far from finished, with very unstable FPS count. Now the FPS is amazing all the time, no matter how much going on on the streets.

- When inputting the info in the police databases in cop cars, Niko drives with one hand and operates the computer with the other one.

- Some spotted street names were: North Holland, Ruby street, and Silicon street.

- When driving by, you can occasionally spot peds having problem with their cars, standing and shouting and waving with their arms.

- At one moment Niko said: “What the hell is wrong with these people ?” while driving by in the car.

- Characters breath can, besides on the street, also be seen when traveling to higher altitudes, like skyscrapers

- You can hang onto passing boats and climb onboard (similar to VCS I guess)

- There is a helicopter-tour place where you can take a tour around LC with a guide, or hire your own helicopters. Or just shoot the guide and steal the helicopter.